Apparatus for controlling the flow of fluids



Jan. 2; 1940 H, ZIEBOLZ 2,185,970

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE FLOW OF FLUIDS Fild Dec. 21, 1936 4 Shets-Shet 1 g A v I #2 4 3 Z k 33 35 [/5 a;

XX 1/ Z;

jail; 1949- H. ZIEBOLZ 2,185,970

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE FLOW 0F FLUIDS Filed Dec. 21, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 imam tom JamZ, 1940. r ZQIEBOLZ I 2,135,979

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE-"FLOW OF FLUIDS Filed Dc. 21", 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jan. 2, 1940. ZIEBQLZ 2,185,970

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE-FLOW 0F FLUIDS Filed Dec. 21, 1936 .4 Sheets-Sheet 4 GAS Gum MA Patented Jan. 2, 1940 UNITED F STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS Fon. CONTROLLING The snow or rwm's Herbert'Ziebolz, Chicago, 111., assignor to Askania- WerkeA. G., a'corporation of Germany Application December. 21, 1936, Serial No. 117,041 8 Claims; (01.. 137-164) This invention relates to regulating apparatus for controlling the flow of. fluids. More particularly the invention aims to provide u ged, re-

pressure-and fluids of high viscosity presents considerable difliculties. The conventional dia-.- phragm systems for operating controlling instruments prove unsatisfactory as differential 1 pressure systems are aptv to leak while single pressure systems show a lack of sensitivity because of their construction which has to with-- stand the total pressure of the fluid to be regulated.

2 Heavy oils, such as tar, which have to be passed through conduits in a heated state to lessen their viscosity do not permit of the use of. the usual constrictions in the conduits and lines extending =i1erefrom, since the oil tends to congeal in lines at relatively small cross section thereby rendering the controlling apparatus inoperative.

The invention aims to provide reliable an highly sensitive regulating apparatus which are iree from the above-explained disadvantages.

e The improved results are accomplished by passing the fluid that is to be regulated through a rotary fluid motor, preferably of the positive displacement type. The rotary motor which may be a sliding vane motor or in the nature of a turbine 33 drives a small governor acting on the centrifugal force principle. Thegovernor will hereinafter be called fly-ball governor. The fly-ball governor, in turn, acts on a relay, preferably of the pressure-fluid type, and sets-up impulses which are proportional to the centrifugal force of the governor and the square of. the flow of thefluid to be regulated, respectively.

These and other advantages and objects will appear from a consideration of the description which follows with the accompanying drawings showing embodiments of the invention for illusarative purposes. It is to be understood that this detailed description is not be taken in a limiting sense, the scope of the invention being defined by the appended claims. 3 Referring to the drawings: Fig. 1 lean elevation-of a rotary fluidmotor, fly-ball governor, and a pressure fluid relay, part-- ly shown in section;

ception orifice 30."

h Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 3 is aplan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1; v

Fig. 4 is a view at the bottom of the rotary 5 motor of Fig. 1 with the bottom plate removed;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic illustration of another regulating apparatus;

Fig.- 6 shows diagrammatically an operative connection of valves shown in Fig. 6. 10 Figures 1, 2 and'3 show by way of example a preferred constructional design of. a rotary Ifluid motor, fly-ball governor and. a fluid pressure relay for practicing the invention.

The fluid to be regulated enters the casing I0 of a rotary fluid motor through a pipe coupling l I, leaving the casing at the opposite side through another coupling l2. The shaft l3 of the motor is connected at M with the vertical shaft l5 of a 1 flyball governor Hi. :The governor I6 is shown 2 as comprising a rotatable table l1 carrying in pivotal bearings bell-crank-shaped levers l8 and I9; On the one arm of the levers fly balls and 2| are adjustably mounted on threaded stems 22 and 23 and adjustable weights 24 and 25 are 25 provided for balancing the movable system. The other arms of the levers bear against a collar 26 ,rotatably mounted on a vertical spindle 21 which isaxially movable in a bearing 28 of the table IT. The upper end of the spindle engages'with 30 a pressure fluid relay shown as being of the wellknown Askania jet pipe type.

The relay comprises a jet-pipe 23 and a re- Thejet-pipe 23 is shown as pivotallymounted about an axis 3|,32 (Fig. 2) in downwardly extending arms 33 of the instrument casing 34, 35. The jet pipe is supplied with fluid under pressure admitted through a pipe coupling 36 and discharges part or all of the fluid into the reception orifice 30, depending upon the relative position of the jet pipe and orifice; thereby setting'up a pressure .in conduits 38, 39, 43 communicating with the orifice. There is further provided a link connection between the arm 33 and the spindle 21 to prevent the latter from turning. v

. A pressure responsive device shown as a diaphragm 42 engages the jet pipe by means of a pin 43 and exerts on the relay a restoring action in opposition to the impulses of the governor I6. The diaphragm is shown as closing a chamber 44 communicating .with the reception orifice through the conduit Ml. A stop 45 prevents an excessive upward movement of the jet-pipe.

The operation of the'device shown in Fig. 1 u

It becomes thus easily apparent that the pressure inside the diaphragm casing is at all times a function of the centrifugal force, respectively of the rate of the flow of fluid driving the rotary motor. Since the centrifugal force is proportional to the square of the speed of the motor, the pressure-impulse created by the pressure fluid relay becomes proportional to the square of the rate of flow of the fluid.

The rotary motor is shown in Fig. 4. The rotor body 46 which is integral with or connected to the driving shaft I5 is provided with slots carrying sliding vanes 41, 48 and 49. Fluid entering through one pipe coupling strikes the vanes thereby moving the rotor and leaves the casing again by the opposite pipe coupling. It is understood,

however, that other types of rotary fluid motors, well known in the art, may be used in connection with a fly-ball governor.

An apparatus for controlling the flow of oil andgas alternately used for combustion and for controlling air in proportion to the fuel is diagrammatically shown in Fig. 5.

Oil is supplied to a burner (not shown) through a conduit 65, equipped with a valve 66 for shutting off the supply of oil if desired. The oil drives a motor I8" spinning a fly-ball governor l6". The pressure fiuid relay shown as being a jet pipe 29" is operated by the governor "5" by means of a ratio varying device well known in connection with jet pipe relays. The ratio varying device comprises a ratio lever 61 and a ratio slider 68 associated with the movable jet pipe 29". As a restoring device there is shown a diaphragm 69 closing a diaphragm chamber 18 and acted upon by the pressure set up by the jet pipe in the orifice 38" further communicating with a pipe 1|. When the ratio slider 68 of the jet-pipe relay which may be provided with an indicating scale 68' and pointer 68" is displaced towards the pivotal point of the ratio lever 61, the force exerted by the restoring diaphragm 69 has to be relatively greater to balance the relay against the governing impulses. In other words by so displacing the ratio slider the magnitude of the pressure impulses created by the relay is increased. The pressure impulse pipe 1| leads to a meter or recorder comprising a pressure responsive device shown as a diaphragm 12 dividing a casing 13 into two chamber 14 and 15. The

. parabolic function of the flow.

Combustion air is conducted through a third moving the valves.

conduit 83 having a flow responsive device therein shown as being a constriction 84 and a device for regulating the flow of air shown as being a butterfly-valve 85 operable by a servo motor 86.

The servo motor 86 forms a part of a regulator 5 comprising additionally a jet pipe relay 81 with the usual ratio varying device, a controlling device shown as being a diaphragm 88 dividing a casing 89 into two chambers 98 and 9|, and a restoring device shown as also being a diaphragm 10 92 dividing a casing 93 into chambers 94 and 95. The chambers 94 and 85 are connected to opposite sides of the constriction 84. The chambers and 9| may either be connected to the atmosphere at 96..and the pipe 1| respectively, 15

of the meter and in the chamber 9| of the con- :8

trolling regulator diaphragm. The remaining chambers 15 and 98 are vented into the atmosphere through the valve 91 at 86.

The three valves 91, 98 and 11 may be interconnected to be moved conjointly. A suitable .0

operative connection is shown in Fig. 6. A linkage |88 movable by a handle |8| is provided for Marks I82 and I83 may be provided to indicate the operative connection of the regulator and meter system effected by the a valves in their relative position.

The operation of the device shown in Fig. 5 is as follows:

If oil is desired to be burned the gas valve 19 is maintained closed and the oil valve 66 opened. 40 The pressure fluid relay 29" controlled by the rotary motor and fly ball governor creates pressure impulses in pipe 1| which are proportional to the square of the oil flow. The pressure impulses operate the meter and recorder 16 indi for this purpose be equipped witha scale cali 5 brated-in thermal units. The pressure impulses furthermore act on the controlling diaphragm 88 of the air flow regulator. Upon an increase in oil flow the pressure inside the chamber 9| increases and the diaphragm 88 will move the jet pipe 81 to the left. The resulting increase in pressure in the left orifice conduit of the jet-pipe regulator causes the servo motor 86 to open the valve 85, thereby increasing the flow of combustion air until the restoring differential pressure impulse. o0

taken at the constriction 84 equals the controlling impulse at 88. An initial air-to-fuel ratio may be set at the ratio varying device of the regulator 81. It is apparent that the supply of combustion air will in the above explained manner. 65

be automatically regulated in response to the fuel supply.

If gas is desired to be burned instead of oil the valves 91, 98 and 11 are moved into the second position indicated by the gas mark I83. The 7 regulator and meter are thereby connected to be governed by impulses taken at the constriction 88 of the gas line. The oil valve 66 isv maintained closed and the gas valve 18 opened until the meter 16 reads the desired value. Upon an 1 increase in the flow of gas the differential pressure impulse takenat. the constriction 80 will increase proportional to the square of the gas flow and in the same manner as hereinbefore explained in connection with the oil flow impulse act on the regulator to increase the supply of combustion air.

The magnitude of the oil flow impulses created by the relay 29 may be adjusted relatively to the magnitude of the gas impulses taken at the constriction 80 by means of the ratio varying device 68. This feature permits of the use of a single scale for the meter 16.

One feature of the'apparatus shown in Fig. 5 is among others the use of only one regulator and one meter in a furnace or heating plant in which gas and oil are alternately used.

Obviously the present invention is not restricted to the particular embodiments thereof herein shown and described. Moreover itis not indispensible that all the features of the invention be used conjointly, since they may be employed advantageously in various combinations and subcombinations.

What is claimed is:

l. Regulating apparatus comprising, in combination, a fuel conduit; a rotary flow motor in said conduit; a fly-ball governor connected to be operated by said flow motor; a pressure fluid relay controlled by said governor; an air conduit; a constriction in said air conduit; means responsive to a diflerential pressure taken at the constriction and connected to act on said relay in opposition to said governor; and means actuated by said relay for varying the flow of air through said conduit.

2. Regulating apparatus comprising, in combination, a fuel conduit; a rotary flow motor in said conduit; a fiyball governor connected to be operated by said flow motor; a pressure fluid relay controlled by said governor; a pressure responsive device actuated by impulses from said pressure fluid relay and connected to act on said relay in opposition to said governor; an air conduit; a valve in said air conduit; a servo motor for operating said valve; a second relay connected to be controlled by impulses of the first relay for operating said servo motor; and means responsive to the flow of air through said air conduit and connected to act on said second relay in opposition to the impulses of the first relay.

- -3. Regulating apparatus comprising, in. combination, a fuel conduit; a rotary flow motor in said conduit; a fly-ball governor connected to be operated by said flow motor; a pressure fluid relay controlled by said governor; a pressure responsive device actuated by impulses from said pressure fluid relay and connected to act on said relay in opposition to said governor; an air conduit; a valve in said air conduit; a servo-motor for operating said valve; a second relay connected to be controlled by impulses of the first relay for operating said servo-motor; a constriction in said air conduit; and means responsive to a'diflerential pressure taken at the constriction and connected to act on said second relay in opposition to the impulses from said first relay.

4. Regulating apparatus comprising, in combination, means for creating an impulse force which is proportional to the square of the change of a first condition; 'a relay connected to be responsive to said impulse force; a fly-ball governor connected to be operated in response to the magnitude of a second condition and connected to act on said relay; and means connected to be actuated by said relay for adjusting one of said conditions, whereby both conditions are maintained in a predetermined relation.

5. Regulating apparatus comprising, in combination, a first conduit; a rotary flow motor in said conduit; a fly-ball governor connected to be operated by said flow motor; a relay connected to be controlled by said governor; a second conduit; a valve in said second conduit; a servomotor connected to be actuated bysaid relay for operating said valve; a constriction in said second conduit; and means responsive to a differential pressure taken at the constriction and connected to act on said relay in opposition to said fly-ball governor, whereby the flow in said second conduit is controlled in response to the flow in said first conduit. s

6. Regulating apparatus comprising, in combination, means for creating an impulse force which is proportional to the square of the change of a first condition; a relay connected to be responsive to said impulse-force; a fiy-ball governor connected to be operated in response to the magnitude of a second condition; a pressure fluid chamber having a movable wall; a pressure fluid relay connected to control the flow of a pressure fluid into said chamber and create a pressure therein; an operative connection between said governor and said pressure fluid relay for moving said pressure fluid relay in exact proportion to the governor movements irrespective of the movements of said movable chamber wall; an operative connection between said pressure fluid relay and said chamber wall so arranged that the pressure in the chamber at the connection opposes the action of the governor on said pressure fluid relay and vice versa, whereby the pressure in said chamber becomes proportional to the square of the rate of rotation of the governor; means connecting said chamber so that the pressure fluid therein acts upon said first -mentioned relay; and means connected to be actuated by said first mentioned relay for adjusting one of said conditions to maintain a predetermined relation between both conditions.

7. Regulating apparatus comprising, in combination, means for creating an impulse force which is proportional to the square of the change of a first condition; a relay connected to be responsive to said impulse force; a fly-ball governor connected to be operated in response to the magnitude of a second condition; a pressure fluid diaphragm chamber having a movable diaphragm; a jet pipe relay including a movable jet pipe and connected to control a flow of pressure I fluid into said chamber to act on said diaphragm; an operative connection between said governor and said jet piperelay for moving said jet pipe in exact proportion to the governor movements irrespective of movements of said diaphragm; and an operative connection between said governor and said diaphragm so arranged that the pressure in the chamber at the connection opposes the action of the governor on' said jet pipe and vice versa, whereby the pressure on said diaphragm becomes proportional to the square of the rate of rotation of the governor; means connecting said chamber so that the pressure fluid therein acts upon said first mentioned relay; and means connected to be actuated by said first mentioned relay for adjusting one of said conditions to maintain a predetermined relation between both conditions. a

8. Regulating apparatus comprising, in combination, means for creating an impulse force which is proportional to the square of the change of the first condition; a relay connected to be responsive to said impulse force; a fly-ball governor connected to be operated in response to the magnitude of a second condition; a Jet pipe relay having a movable jet pipe; an adjustable lever connection between said governor and said relay,

whereby said relay is actuated in exact propor tion to the governor movements; a pressure fluid diaphragm chamber having a movable diaphragm connected to be acted upon by pressure fluid controlled by said relay and also connected to act on said relay in opposition to the governor,

whereby the pressure on the diaphragm becomes 

